Clandestine
by XoX Buzz XoX
Summary: A 19 year old girl named Sakura prepares to travel to her aunt's eerie manor for the summer. What she thinks will be a boring, lonely vacation, turns out to be a life threatening journey that changes her life forever. She begins to see and hear things that aren't actually there and starts to piece together a murder from centuries ago. **Rated M - just in case ;)
1. Chapter 1

**Hello Everyone! This is actually a story I originally wrote on my own, but I wanted to put it on the site, so I obviously needed characters. So, this is my first story that I have written in a long time. I always loved writing, so here I am back at it again. Please go easy on me, as its been a while :P. Constructive comments are welcome, since I have to get back into the groove of writing. It's amazing how much you forget in time. Anyways, sit back, grab a bowl of popcorn and enjoy the journey ahead :D**

* * *

I begrudgingly threw my clothes into my old, tattered suitcase. How much would I actually need for a two-month endeavour? I could hear the neighbors' kids yelling and laughing out on the street as their summer had just begun. As a University student I had already had two months off. However, being the dedicated student that I am, I helped out with some research in my department for the past two months. What the hell was I thinking? I love the lab and everything, but I would have taken it back knowing how crappy my remaining two months were going to be.

What was the reason behind summer vacation? Most people look forward to the months of lounging around and swimming, but I on the other hand could not be more miserable. I was going to be alone this summer! My sister always goes off to a sports camp all summer and both my parents travel for their jobs.

My dad suggested that I go spend some time with my aunt. My uncle died a couple of years ago from a heart attack, so she's been lonely ever since. She lives in an old Victorian manor, just outside of a small town. It's the kind of town where everyone knows each other and their life stories. Both of my parents thought it was a great idea for me to go and spend some time helping her out around the place. I love her and everything, but I wanted to spend the summer with my close friends and family, going on adventures, relaxing... that kind of thing.

I zipped up my full suitcase with a sigh. Even though this wasn't an ideal situation, I did love going to my aunt's place as a kid with all of my family. It was extremely beautiful there and it had a lot of history, which my aunt has been interested in her entire life.

The bright June sun was reflecting off my grey car, as I shut the trunk door. Sweat was already beading down my back while hopping into the front seat. This was going to be one long car ride, especially since my air conditioner was broken. I peeled the windows open and let the hot, sticky air fill my car. I rest my forehead against the steering wheel, pondering the decision of going through with this. With the thought still swirling in my head, I put the gearshift in drive and slowly pulled out of my driveway for the three hour trip that would ruin my summer.

xXxXx

I slowed my car in front of a large set of dark iron gates. I couldn't see the house from the road because I remembered a forest surrounded the property. It made for a great game of hide and seek with my cousins when I was a kid. I got out of my car and managed to open the unlocked gates and flung them open. The driveway was gravel and looked like a road itself, since it was so long. I returned to my car and drove through the gates and proceeded down the driveway. The trees made it feel later than it actually was because their shadows made it extremely dark.

My tires screeched to a halt on the gravel driveway, in front of the old house. I opened my car door to get a better look at the place where I was going to spend my summer. Three cracked stone steps lead up to the front porch of the manor. The overhanging roof was held up by large, white columns, which shaded the porch. From what I could see, this wasn't the manor that I remembered coming to as a child. This place was falling apart. The stonework was being suffocated by ivy and greenery and the wood was dry and brittle. You would have to walk with caution on the porch so you wouldn't fall through. The willow trees that lined either side of the driveway were blowing slowly in the cool wind. This beautiful place that I knew as a child was not the place where I was standing now. This place was cold and eerie. The dark grey lake that hid behind the manor gave off a light fog that stretched across the ground. I rolled my window shut and stepped out of my car. My feet crunched against the gravel as I suddenly heard a loud thud from the front door slamming shut.

"Sakura darling, how are you? How was the drive," my aunt shrieked? She proceeded to hobble down the steps and walk toward my car. I walked into her frail embrace as she opened her arms for a welcoming hug. My aunt was always really quirky. People tended to shy away because of how different she was, but I loved being around her. She made life seem so interesting, instead of the boring reality that it really was.

However, the woman standing before me was different. Similar to the house, a woman that I remembered being so beautiful, looked like she was run down and tired. The only aspect of her that was recognizable were her kind hazel eyes that gazed at me with warmth.

"It was great," I remarked. "There wasn't too much traffic and the weather was perfect."

A smile immediately appeared across her face. "Well, don't just stand there like a bump on a log, come...come on inside, she hushed." She placed her bony hand against my back and ushered me up the steps and through the front door.

When I walked through the front door I stepped into a foyer with dark wood floors and a grandfather clock ticking in the far corner. A single flight of stairs was centered at the back of the foyer, going up to the second level. The inside of the house was just as eerie as the outside. The light coming from the large window at the top of the main staircase cast long dark shadows throughout the room. The light also bounced off the chandelier in the center of the room, causing it to unnervingly sparkle between the cobwebs and dust. Even though it was the 21st century, stepping into the house would make anyone feel like they were in the old Victorian era.

"Now, how about a cup of tea after the long drive up?" my aunt asked.

"That would be amazing," I responded. "The temperature has definitely gotten chilly all of a sudden." I noticed this from the shiver down my spine. How odd, it was so hot where I lived three hours away.

"Alright dear, I'll go make us some nettle tea. You make yourself at home and I'll be right back." And with this she sauntered down a hallway and disappeared. I was definitely going to get lost in this big house!

I walked over and ascended the staircase, the wood creaking with each step I took. I placed my right hand on the banister and felt the cold, dusty wood slide beneath my warm hand. At the top of the staircase there was a platform and two different sets of stairs, going the opposite direction, that went up to the third floor of the manor. I stopped at the vast window that lit the entire foyer with ease.

I peered through the cloudy glass out to the back courtyard. For a split second I saw my long auburn hair and green eyes in the reflection, but as my eyes focused into the distance my breath was taken away as I gazed at a lake. I immediately felt pulled to it. Out of everything that I remembered about this place, I swear I would have remembered this lake. It was dark and beautiful the way the fog swirled on top of the still water.

I almost ran back down the stairs and out the back door. I had to see the lake up close! I walked down to the dock clutching my jacket close to my body. The air was tepid, but felt cold from the wind coming off the water and prickling my cheeks. The wind had obviously picked up because it was screaming through the branches of the tall trees and rippling against the water. The sky was overcast and grey, making my surroundings almost seem lifeless.

I took my phone out of my jacket pocket and went to snap a picture of the peculiar beauty I saw before my eyes.

"Sakura, darling!" I heard my aunt call to me from the back door of the house. "There is a storm coming, so you had best come inside," she yelled from a distance.

"I'll be right there," I bellowed back. I turned back to the water one last time before turning around and heading back up to the manor where I was to spend the remains of my summer.

* * *

**Hope you like it so far. Don't mind my grammar mistakes, it's been a while! I have great ideas for this story, so tune in to see what happens next. Now...bring on the comments 3**


	2. Chapter 2

**Heyyy Everyone! I hope you liked the intro to my story! Sorry it took me so long to update, I had an extremely busy July. I promise I won't take that long from now on. I just want to give a shout out to Kawaii chibi Chidori-chan and saphiremarietheangel who reviewed my first chapter. Thanks so much and your comments mean the world to me! Anyways, I don't want to delay any further, so here is chapter 2!**

* * *

A cool drop of rain slid down my cheek as I ran through the back door. There was definitely a storm coming and luckily I didn't get caught in it. Breathlessly, I fought to close the back door against the strong winds trying to blow it open. Once I managed to successfully latch the door closed, I walked from behind the staircase and into the front foyer, which wasn't as open and airy as I remembered. It was cold and dim, a place that looked like it had been abandoned for years.

"Sakura," my aunt called from down the hall, "why don't you come sit with me on the chesterfield." I sauntered to the right of the staircase to a hallway with many hanging portraits of my distant family. The oil paintings looked shadowy and ancient from the layer of dust that stuck to them.

I walked to the end of the long dark corridor that glowed bright orange. I peered into the room and found my aunt sitting with her legs crossed on the dark, musty couch. My aunt had lit her fireplace which gave the entire room a homey feel. The dry wood crackled as a roll of thunder could be heard outside. I walked over to my aunt's side and sat down. I seems that whenever you're in someone else's house, you never sit very comfortably as you would in your own place. So, I awkwardly sat up straight against the velvet, maroon pillows and watched my aunt tuck a dark brown curl behind her ear. The glow of the fire made her seem more alive than what I saw earlier.

My aunt was always the quirky, weird one that everyone tended to have in their family. She was the youngest sibling out of my mom and their brother. After my mom passed, she seemed to drift further and further from our family. Once my dad remarried, she was almost completely cut off from us. Once in a while I would receive a short letter in the mail from her explaining what she was up to. After a while I stopped receiving her letters because I heard from my dad she was put into a mental institution, since she was not coping well. My dad explained to me that she was hearing and seeing things that weren't there. Automatically, people thought she was crazy, but I still remembered my loving aunt as the woman who would take me on trail rides with her horses in the forest.

My aunt placed her cup of tea on a coster, set it on the coffee table next to us and turned towards me. "So darling, did you find your room okay?" my aunt asked.

"I actually haven't even gone upstairs yet, but I'm sure I'll be able to find it," I responded.

"Good," my aunt acknowledged, "there is something I actually wanted to talk to you about." She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Your room is in the East wing of the manor, and is the room directly at the end of the hall. One thing I want to caution you about is the West wing. I don't want you going up there because it's ... ummm, not quite ready yet," she ordered nervously. Her dark blue eyes shifted away from mine.

There was something about the way she said this that didn't sit quite right with me. What was in the West wing, and why didn't she want me to go up there? I loved my aunt and all, but I didn't exactly believe her.

Within two seconds, she perked back up again. "Well, I have to go run some errands, mainly grocery shopping, because I have nothing for dinner tonight," she exclaimed. "But I feel bad for leaving you, especially since you just got here."

I shook my head quickly, "No no, don't even worry about it," I remarked, "I have to get settled in my room anyway."

A smile spread across her face. "Alrighty then, I should only be a couple of hours, but definitely back before dinner."

With that she rose from her seat beside me, kissed me on the forehead and waltzed out of the room. My aunt seemed like her old self, besides her appearance. It was like time hadn't gone by at all. You could never tell that she was admitted to a mental institution, well not to me anyway. She seemed completely normal.

I untucked my one leg from underneath me and got up from the couch. I trudged back down the corridor again, realizing now how tired I really was from the long car ride. I took my suitcase and bag from the front door and slowly stumbled my way up the double flight of stairs. I reached the top and immediately contemplated which direction I should go from there. From the way the house was positioned I turned to the right to go to the East wing of the manor. I walked down the long hallway, wheeling my suitcase behind me, as it creaked against the old wooden floors. The hallway looked like a hotel because of how many doors I was passing.

I finally reached the end of the hall where I found a note posted on the last, lone door. I picked the sticky note off that read "Sakura's room", with two hearts drawn below. Attached to the note with a piece of tape was a key. The key looked antique, with its intricately carved head and unique brass body. I assumed the key was to my room. I ripped the key off the note and slotted it into the key hole of the door. The door creaked open and I was immediately met with another small staircase that wound around into a curve. I looked down at my suitcase and then back up the staircase with a sigh.

XxXxX

I was sitting on my bed in the guest room that my aunt had set up for me. I had my hot cup of nettle tea as the rain was beating against the glass of the window beside my bed. My room looked just as old as the rest of the house. All of the furniture was made from dark cherry wood with intricate designs carved into them.

I was so exhausted from the ride that I sprawled out onto the soft crimson comforter and gave a long sigh as I took in my new surroundings. A small vanity table with a small jewelry box sat to my right. An old, dusty fireplace was placed perpendicular at the end of my bed. The mantle of the fireplace has an ancient looking clock that ticked hauntingly in the eerie silence. Old paintings scattered over the walls of the room and were hard to make out because of the layer of dust on them. The walls had thin wallpaper that was peeling off in places. Some of the chairs and tables were covered with white cloths which made the room feel deserted and cold.

I was so busy taking in everything that I almost didn't hear the small bang downstairs. I paused and propped myself on my elbows, trying to figure out where the sound had come from.

Suddenly I heard creaking in the room below my bed. I shot up in a vertical position, and paused in the middle of a breath. What freaked me out the most was knowing that my aunt wasn't even close to being home yet.

I automatically thought worst case scenario in my head - this is how i die! I kind of know how my aunt felt because ever since my mom passed, I've had more anxiety and paranoia about everything and anything.

I then heard a door slam downstairs, confirming that my musings had been correct, it was not just the house making old sounds, it was something, and it was in the house!

I shot out of my bed and instantly started looking for a good weapon. I didn't want something that would kill the thing, just enough damage to protect myself and get away. You would think that there would be more weapon like objects in an old historic manor, but apparently not! I then rummaged through my suitcase looking for something ... ANYTHING! My hand then felt something cold in my bag. My curling iron, that was the weapon I had to fend off my killer! I rolled my eyes to myself and was startled again by the sound my creaking footsteps downstairs.

I quietly turned the knob of my door and peered down the hall through the small slit I made with the door before fully leaving my room. I tiptoed quickly down the hall to the main staircase. I quietly slinked down the first set of stairs and made it to the platform with the large window. Lightning shocked the sky and lit up the foyer like a decorated tree on Christmas day. That's when I saw the dark figure turn down one of the corridors and slip into darkness once again. All I could hear and feel was my heart slamming against my chest.

I slowly descended down the second staircase and down into the foyer. It was getting darker in the manor as the storm worsened outside. The only light source I had was the dark grey sky through the large window at the top of the stairs. I carefully walked toward the hallway that the figure turned down and peered behind the corner. There was nothing there! Where did the dark figure go so fast? It must have gone through the kitchen and into another part of the house.

I heard another door slam in a parallel hallway behind me. I quickly turned down the hall I was in and held my breath. I held the cold metal curling iron tightly between my hands. I leaned against the wall down the hall, far enough that I wouldn't be seen, but close enough to get a glimpse of who or what it might be.

All of a sudden I heard the phone ring down the hall where I was hiding. I glanced in the direction of the phone ringing and prayed that it would stop, so my cover wasn't blown. I whipped my head back around, forgetting for a second that there was something in the house.

"AHHHHHHHHH," I shilled in horror. I swung my curling iron in the direction of the thing now standing face to face with me. It was dark down the hallway, so I couldn't see exactly who or what it was.

"WHAT THE HELL," the shadow yelled, while jumping back. I paused in confusion for a brief second. The dark figure stepped closer towards me and I held my iron up threatening to swing again. I definitely wouldn't miss this time!

"You know, if your swing was any better you could have hit me with that," it blurted sarcastically. The figure then took the curtains of the window next to me and flung them open. Light flooded into the hallway. There before me was a tall, handsome, dark haired man. I felt blood rush to my cheeks as I lowered my curling iron down to my side. I was taken aback and got the courage to finally say something.

"W...wh...who are you and what are you doing in my aunt's house?"

* * *

**So, I hope you like it! Please read and review xoxox**


End file.
